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Original poster

To consider a north-facing garden

101 replies

wink1970 · 12/04/2021 12:25

I have seen 2 houses, both perfect, but with north-facing gardens. I keep being told they will never be warm, but does anyone have a different viewpoint? Surely they get sun rising to the right and setting to the left?

I think I'm trying to talk myself into it!

OP posts:
roses2 · 12/04/2021 14:35

I'm in a house with a north facing garden. It means in the morning my living room and bedroom are full of sun and are hot - it's lovely!

North facing gardens are completely underrated. It would not put me off buying at all.

SuperheroBirds · 12/04/2021 14:37

We have a north facing garden. Our patio (3.5m deep) stays shady until about 3:30pm at the moment. But as we don’t have anything built at 90 degrees or behind us (all the houses are in one line), the majority of the garden has sun all day. We have put a seating area at the end of the garden for when we want the sun, and have another set on the patio for in the shade.
I love our garden and spent a lot of time just relaxing out there last spring/summer, so I don’t think the direction it faces is a problem.

Coldilox · 12/04/2021 14:38

I have a north-west facing garden. Gets the sun from about 11am and is a sun trap from then until the evening. We’re very lucky with the way the houses are built that we don’t get any shadow from that side.

HighPressureDays · 12/04/2021 14:40

I'm in the same position, I've found a lovely house that I really want but the garden is north facing.

I know its not the worst thing in the world but I currently have a fairly small north facing garden and only get small patches of sun right at the back randomly throughout the day and no sun in the evenings.

I think its been more noticeable the past year because we've been using the garden more due to Covid. It was especially sad on beautiful days last summer and we were having a BBQ in the cold. It also doesn't help our garden also seems to be a wind trap Sad.

If it has a long garden it might be different because the back will get sun.

mummabubs · 12/04/2021 14:47

Depends on neighbour's trees, height of your house etc. We're currently moving from a house with a North facing garden. DH doesn't like being in the sun too long so it's suited him fine but I hate it! Our garden is short and narrow, we have a three storey terraced house and our neighbour to the west boundary has a big tree... So in the height of summer the back strip of our garden is in sunlight between about 9am-2pm and at that point the tree from next door shadows us out completely. 🤦🏻‍♀️

NotGenerationAlpha · 12/04/2021 14:48

I have a north facing garden and it's fine. We have a conservatory and it's a lot cooler than our last one which was south east facing. Also, I can sit in the garden for BBQ in the summer in the shade of the house. In our last house, we needed a huge umbrella because of the all day sun. We have sun in the garden however. It's just one end being in shade of the house, and we have laid patio there. I think it'll be very different if the garden is very small and it's in perpetual shade.

Wtfdoipick · 12/04/2021 14:51

Large garden with large windows at the front of the house would be fine, you can have a small south facing garden which is completely shaded by trees (also know that set up) it's really down to the individual house

Pootles34 · 12/04/2021 14:51

If it's a new build can you get them to put the patio at the end of the garden? It all depends on so many things - if you're a sun worshiper, if you're a gardener, what would you want to use it for?

I get a headache when it's too hot, so our north facing garden is perfect, and I like not having to put sun cream on the kids on hot days- it's nice for them to play in the shade.

Cattitudes · 12/04/2021 14:51

We had one with a 3m wide conservatory, it was probably mainly in the shade most of the day, but it meant the space was useable all year round. We didn't have a huge remaining garden but it was big enough to have space to sit in the sun.

Caddyisaweathergirl · 12/04/2021 14:51

I have a north-facing garden and it's awful. Cold, dark and not much grows including a lawn. I have lots of problems with moss, muddy areas and dampness (and slugs). And the kitchen is perpetually dark and chilly too. It gets a bit of sun in the early mornings during high summer. I wouldn't consider buying a property with a short NF garden. Sorry I'm not selling this am I?

ineedaholidaynow · 12/04/2021 14:51

The sun is currently shining (interspersed with hail showers!) on my patio which is right by the house in our NF garden

desperate4spring · 12/04/2021 14:53

Here is our north-facing garden.

To consider a north-facing garden
Klarajannsson · 12/04/2021 14:54

I like my mum's north ish facing garden in a heatwave. Mine is unbearable! Though DMs is long enough to get sun further down for most of the day, if you want it.

Klarajannsson · 12/04/2021 14:55

I'd love that nice bit of shade on your patio @desperate4spring!

Lockdownlifting12344555 · 12/04/2021 14:59

Ours is north facing at the sun is pretty much gone off it now. Honestly I’d never ever buy north facing again.... I long to sit outside in the summer but when the sun goes it’s just bloody freezing. Go to the front of our house and it’s like being in a different country out there 🤣
Never again for me

WellTidy · 12/04/2021 15:00

We have a north facing garden and we get loads and loads of sun in it. I am actively trying to create shade as it gets very hot sometimes. We are in the SE.

We have are detached, but on a normal suburban street. The houses to the left and right are the same size as ours. The sun comes round and all areas of the garden get sun at certain times of the day. The side that gets the least sun is the side that faces east, but only right up against the fence.

Els1e · 12/04/2021 15:00

My mum has a north facing garden and gets the sun most of the day.

MummyJ12 · 12/04/2021 15:00

I agree with all of the above, it completely depends on how big the garden is and what’s around you.
We had a tiny north facing garden to our last house, we moved because of it, by 3pm we’d lost the sun in the height of summer and even when we got some sun in our garden there was only a bit of it. It always felt cold and dark.
My mum on the other hand also has a north facing garden but it’s huge so it doesn’t really matter. It’s just that she can’t often sit just outside on the patio because that’s always in the shade.
I would think very carefully, until you’ve had to put up with it, you don’t realise how much a bit of sun in the garden matters!

TheDogsMother · 12/04/2021 22:24

I was worried about this when we bought this house but the further end of the garden is a raised patio and there are no houses in the way of the passage of the sun. Lower bit of the garden goes into shade but the upper bit can be in sun until gone 9 at the height of summer and about 7pm now.

StoneofDestiny · 12/04/2021 22:38

I'd not want a north facing garden. It's easier to create shade in a south facing garden with parasols etc, but impossible to create sunshine in a north facing one.

likeafishneedsabike · 12/04/2021 22:48

A bit against the grain but i like our north facing garden. However, it’s only shaded by our house so probably not typical.
The front living room is very nice and warm warm whereas the kitchen at the back keeps cooler. We have two sets of double glass doors at the back, so if it was south facing it would bake us.

Goldieloxx · 12/04/2021 23:13

I live in a semi with a longish north facing garden, it's a real suntrap at the top and is sunny all day

Condenast · 12/04/2021 23:26

All my houses have been north facing
I think I prefer it, if I ever sit in the sun it’s in the morning before it gets too hot. So patio close to the house is perfect.
In my mums I have to go to the back of the garden with my cup of tea to get the sun.

Original poster
wink1970 · 13/04/2021 09:07

Thanks, all.

My Mum's neighbour is north facing, she has invited us down to look at the house at various parts of the day. I love sunshine but DH doesn't, I think we could work something out....

OP posts:
folloyourarro · 13/04/2021 09:30

Our garden wraps around our house, part is north facing, we have that patio'd for an eating area which is nice in the shade, then we have a patio at the bottom of the garden that isn't overlooked and gets the sun for lounging. Best of both worlds, our last garden was south facing and it was relentless on the hottest days.